Soup Tour Recipes

Hand-Pulled Noodles - Image Credit: absolutechinatours.com

Today, myself and over 20 soup lovers are going to walk through the Lower East Side testing out hand-pulled noodle soups at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles, Minestrone or Pasta Fagioli at Da Nico and some Matzo Ball Soup or Split Pea Soup at Katz's Deli. I'm very excited to host this walking tour with  Explorecation.com and in honor of the event here are three recipes of the soups that we are going to test out (hoping to have a hand-pulled noodle one up after this experience). If you can't make this one, there will also be a spring soup tour in April. Refer to Explorecation.com for more details. Happy weekend! 

Vegetable Wonton Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups of water
Bunch of Napa cabbage, chopped up
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 bok choy, chopped up
Bunch of fresh spinach
1 can of mushrooms, chopped up
1 whole carrot, chopped up
1 stalk of chives, chopped up
1 stalk of scallions, chopped up
15 wonton wrappers (I used both Shanghai and Hong Kong-style wrappers)
2-3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili oil Salt to taste

Other Ingredients for Your Wonton's:
Shrimp
Pork
Tofu
Ginger
Oysters

Directions:  
Add water to a pot and start boiling. Chop up the garlic, scallions, cabbage and bok choy and add them to the pot, along with some flavorings (soy sauce, sesame oil and chili oil). Chop up the bok choy, cabbage, mushrooms and carrots very fine (this is for your wonton's). Open your wonton's and coat the rim with sesame oil and water add the filings in the center and flap the wonton forward, then scrunch up the sides and close -- be careful not to overfill. Place them in the boiling pot, along with the spinach and extra mushrooms and carrots. Wonton's should be finished cooking when they rise. Taste and enjoy! 

Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:
3 cups of dry red beans, soaked for 4-5 hours
8 cups of water, approximately 2-3 cups for soaking
1 can of organic diced tomato sauce
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 head of broccoli, cut up
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped up
1 zucchini, cut up
2-3 carrots, chopped up
1/2 box of elbow macaroni
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
bunch of fresh basil (about a handful)
bunch of fresh rosemary (about a handful)  
pepper and salt, to taste

Directions:
Let the dry beans soak for about 4 hours. When ready to cook, add water to a pot and let cook. Cut up the onions and garlic and add them to the pot, along with the beans. Cut up the veggies - zucchini, broccili, cauliflower and carrots, along with the tomato sauce and add them to the pot. Let cook for an hour, checking on the soup and stirring periodically. Add the seasonings (basil, rosemary, celery salt, salt and pepper) and pasta and let cook for another 30 minutes. Taste and enjoy!

Matzoh Ball Soup  

Part One—Chicken Stock 
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken cut into 1/4's (I used a small organic chicken)
1 large pot almost completely filled (75%) with water
4 carrots
2 stalks of celery, cut up
2 small parsnips or 1 large parsnip, cut up
1 small yellow onion, diced into small cubes
1 small bunch of dill tied tied together with white thread
1 small bunch of parsley tied together with white thread
Approximately 2 tablespoons of salt, tasting throughout the simmering process, adding more if needed

Directions:

Fill up a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and cover. While that is cooking cut up, tie the thread around the dill and parsley, and the clean the vegetables. When the water/chicken starts to boil, clean any bubbles or dirt that acclimates to the surface. Add all of the vegetables and the salt to the pot. Set to a very low flame and allow the water to simmer slowly for two hours. Periodically check the pot and taste the concoction, adding salt if needed. After three hours let the vegetables sit in the pot until they cool. Discard all vegetables except carrots. Depending on when you are making the matzo meal you may need to keep your broth in the fridge or remove the vegetables and place the pot  immediately back on the heat as the matzo balls are added.

Part Two—Matzoh Ball Mix

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cold seltzer

Directions:

In a medium-sized bowl mix eggs and oil with a fork, but do not beat the mixture. Add the matzoh meal, salt, seltzer, and mix together.  Cover with aluminium foil and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Start your pot of broth again and bring it to a slight boil. After 20 minutes remove the matzoh from the fridge and wet hands. Make the balls and place them in the boiling pot.  Lower the flame, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the matzoh balls and broth with a spoon, place into a soup bowl, and enjoy!

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Vegetable Minestrone Soup - An antioxidant powerhouse of a soup
Seriously Soupy

Soups are sometimes made for unexpected reasons. This simple minestrone not only helped me through a cold, but was also made in honor of the 2010 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer that pledges to raise awareness to "make strides toward a world of more birthdays." Since I am participating in this annual walk in Central Park this Sunday, I wanted to make a soup to honor this amazing cause as well as a recipe that reflected eating healthy. I assessed the situation in my cupboard - and realized I had almost everything for a healthy and filling minestrone soup! I started by soaking red beans for a few hours, followed by cutting up some onions, garlic and adding in some cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, carrots and tomato sauce that made for the perfect spur of the healthy and hearty soup. What is great about this recipe is that it can be modified to use your favorite veggies or can be made even easier by using canned beans. Whatever you decide to make it, one thing is for certain: this one was delicious!Not only is it filing, minestrone soup is packed with essential nutrients and vitamins like folate, protein, and fiber from the red beans and a hearty does of vitamins A, C, and E (among others) from the green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and carrots. This simple recipe is also economical and lasted for over a week - freeze this soup to have multiple meals later in the winter. This soups to your health!

Eat, Pray, Love (and Soup!)

A journey through Italy, India and Indonesia via soups

Most likely you have heard of the hugely popular memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love" that chronicle's Elizabeth Gilbert's journey of self-discovery from New York to Italy to India, and finally, to Indonesia. The eat part of Gilbert's journey involved her spending four months in Italy where she indulged in pizza, pasta, gelato, etc as she attained a new appreciation for food. I wonder, though, if through her travels did Gilbert enjoy the multifaceted soups from these countries. Did she enjoy a big bowl of minestrone soup in Italy? Or, did she enjoy a comforting bowl of tomato rasam (tomato soup) after mediating in India? Or maybe she indulged in a heaping bowl of green papaya soup in Indonesia? After all, soups do have a comforting and healing effect, not to mention are renowned for their nutritional properties. Well, soups weren't the focus of Gilbert's memoir, but it is certainly what drives this site and what complied me to what to learn more about soup recipes from these countries and embark on my journey via my soup pot.

Full Disclosure: This is by NO means a complete listing of soup recipes from these countries. I did the best I could by choosing the most interesting, popular and fun recipes from these countries. Also, given that I haven't personally traveled to India and Indonesia,  I relied on the good-ole internet and some trusty recommendations as my guide. If you have any soups to add, please email me directly at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com or leave a comment with your tasty soup link.

Italy (Eat)

Minestrone Soup

Recipe and image from www.Food 52.com by FoodWriter97426

Ingredients:

Serves 6
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic,minced or crushed
olive or vegetable oil for sauteing
3/4 cups dry cannellini beans
1/4 cup dry garbanzo beans
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cut green beans, fresh or frozen
1 cup zucchini, sliced and quartered
2 cups chopped tomatoes (or 1 can, with juice)
2" piece Parmesan cheese rind
1 small napa cabbage (about 10 oz)
1/3 cup soup pasta (e.g.ditalini, orzo, tiny shells)
1/2 cup red wine
shredded Parmesan for garnish

Directions:
    1.    Heat a heavy 4 quart (or larger) pot over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat bottom of pot. Add onions and garlic; reduce heat to medium. Saute until onions are translucent.
    2.    Add beans, water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are just barely tender.
    3.    Add herbs and seasonings, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini and cheese rind. Return to boil briefly, then reduce heat to low and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
    4.    In the meantime, thinly slice and chop cabbage. Add to soup along with the pasta and simmer 30 minutes.
    5.    At this point the soup can be refrigerated (or left on the stove with the heat off for up to 2 hours). Reheat before serving. When ready to serve, add wine and taste for seasoning. Serve topped with grated cheese if desired, or pass cheese at the table.
    6.    Note: Vegetables can be changed, added to or deleted. Amounts are only suggestions. Dried herbs can be used in place of fresh - cut amounts by 1/2.

Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

Recipe and image from www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:
3 Italian turkey sausage links (4 ounces each), casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-3/4 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped 

2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon pepper
Dash crushed red pepper flakes
Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:
1. Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Add the broth, water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
2. Stir in tortellini; return to a boil. Cook for 7-9 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; add the spinach, basil, pepper and pepper flakes. Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted. Serve with cheese if desired. 

Yield: 6 servings (2 quarts) 

India (Pray)

Tomato Soup Recipe - Tomato Rasam - Kerala
Recipe and image from www.indianfoodsco.com
Ingredients:


4
8 oz. or 250 gms tomatoes diced

1 onion, chopped

Spices: 
4 cloves garlic, crushed
 4 green chilies, chopped 
1 tsp. tamarind pulp, 
1 tbsp. jaggery
, 1 tsp. mustard seeds
, 10 curry leaves (optional)
1 red chili, broken into two
1 tsp. coriander seeds, 1 tsp. cumin seeds +  2 tsp. peppercorns, tbsp. oil

Method:

1.  Boil the tomatoes, chilies and garlic in 4 cups of water.

2. Add the ground spices, jaggery and tamarind pulp and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Heat the oil. Add mustard seeds until they splutter.  Add the curry leaves, red chili, asafetida powder and onion and fry for a minute.
4. Pour it over the tomatoes.  Heat and serve the rasam garnished with chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

Mulligatawny Soup
Recipe from SoupSong.com 

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 chile pepper, seeded and deveined (your choice: banana, poblano, jalapeno, habanero)
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup lentils
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup coconut milk* or whipping cream

1-2 cups cooked rice (preferably basmati)

1/2-1 cup shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup tart raw apple, chopped fine

Garnish: spoonful of extra cream or coconut milk--and minced cilantro or parsley.

Directions:

Saute the celery, carrots, onion, and pepper in the butter at a low heat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder to blend and cook for a minute. Pour in the stock, add the lentils (and chicken, if it's raw), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, get the rice cooked (if it isn't already); likewise with the chicken. Then shred the chicken and chopped the apples finely. You don't need to skin the apples. When the soup is done, season to taste with the salt and pepper, then puree, solids first, in a blender. Return to pot. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a simmer and add the coconut milk or cream. Take the pot to the table, as well as individual bowls of warm rice (heated in the microwave, if necessary), shredded chicken, finely chopped apple, coconut milk (or cream), and minced cilantro (or parsley). To serve, have big individual serving bowls at the ready. Spoon rice into each bowl (flat soup bowls are nice here)--then pile on a big spoonful of chicken and a spoonful of apple. Ladle the soup on top, then drip coconut milk/cream into the center and swirl--and sprinkling with fresh cilantro and parsley.

Indonesia (Love)

Sayur Bening Bayam Merah - Indonesian Red Amaranth Clear Soup
Soup and image from http://indonesia-eats.blogspot.com/
Ingredients:
700 g (1.5 lbs) amaranth greens
3 shallots (use 5 for smaller size), finely sliced
20 g (0.7 oz) fingerroot, crushed
2 sweet corns, shaved
1200 mL (5 cups) water
sea salt and sugar to taste

Directions:
1. Wash amaranth greens and drain. Take leaves and young stems.
2. In a pot, add water and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add shallot, fingerroot, sweet corn kernels, salt and sugar. Taste for your liking. Cook until the corn done.
3. Add amaranth greens and cook for about the next 10 minutes or done. Serve.

Cook's Note:
- The soup is only good for a day. Never reheat the soup. Or else the soup will taste irony.

Green Papaya Soup with Seafood
Recipe from www.Baliguide.com
Ingredients: 

1 unripe papaya, weighing roughly 750 gr (1½ lb) 

1 cup spice paste for seafood
1 liter chicken stock
¼ liter coconut milk
2 salam leaves
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
¼ tsp powdered black pepper
100 gr shrimps, clams, and mussels 

100 gr diced firm fish
1 tsp salt
Fried shallots to garnish 

Preparation: 

1. Heat stock, add seafood, marinade and bring to boil. Simmer 2 minutes
2. Add salam leaves, lemongrass and papaya, simmer gently until the papaya is 95% tender. Add coconut milk and seafood and continue to simmer (do not boil) until papaya and seafood is tender. 

3. If the stock reduces too much, add more stock
4. Season to taste with pepper and salt and garnish with fried shallots. 

Note: If you wish to prepare a lighter version of this soup then leave coconut milk and seafood out.



What soups have you tried from these countries?

Seriously Soupy Serena